The Auditions

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I did what he said and it worked. I came back to the room with a bottle of muriatic acid. For safety precautions, I carefully removed his ruby ring without waking him up. Then, I opened the bottle and vengefully poured its contents on his face. He woke up with a terrible burning sensation on his skin. He shouted and shouted in agony while his eyes are closed. His skin sizzled and burned, and his cries were like music to my ears. That's for killing my family and destroying my life.

However, when almost all the contents of the bottle were poured, he immediately grabbed his phone and dialed a peculiar number by memory, raised the phone in front of me and shouted:

"I CALL UPON THE FLAMES......."

But I interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence. I jammed the mouth of the bottle in his mouth to shut him up. I didn't know that there were still some contents left in the bottle. He accidently swallowed some of the acid and it only took a few minutes before he stopped moving. I checked on his pulse and his breathing. He's dead.

********

1 hour left.

I escaped the place as easy as taking a pee. After what I did, I walked around mindlessly, reflecting upon what I have done. As I continued to use my new gift, an old woman, probably in her late 60's, approached me. She was wearing an outfit that makes an impression of a soothsayer. At first I thought maybe she was looking at someone else. But then she spoke while looking straight on me. That's when I confirmed that she can actually see me.

"Playing with your body to hide from society, eh? Science can really stretch the boundaries of the impossible!" The old woman said.

I remained silent, hoping that I'm just mistaken and that the woman in front of me is not an immune one.

"Oh, no need to keep silent! Your mind is louder than your mouth. Immune one, eh? So that's what scientists call us." The woman said giggling.

I tried to examine her further to get more details about her. However, it seems like she examined me a lot further than I examined her.

"You're troubled, young one. You're guilty of something horrible. Your emotions overpowered your wisdom of right and wrong. Am I right?" She said.

I was shocked by the accuracy of her statement. I looked around and saw different stalls offering palmistry, tarot card reading, charms and other peculiar stuff. That's when I realized where I am: I'm in the mysterious areas of Quiapo. I returned my gaze back at the old woman who is still looking at me, smiling.

"So I assume you're a psychic?" I finally said.

"Indeed I am, boy. Hmm.....I can see something.......ah! You killed a conjurer! And an evil one, I see. He deserved it. Using elementals as his slaves....that's horrible! The Santelmo must be free from his grasp by now. Don't feel bad, son. It's called serving justice. He might have killed more if you didn't kill him."

No matter what she said, the heavy burden of guilt did not fade away. I also can't understand some of the things she said. Elementals? How can I even believe this woman? However, when I looked at her eyes, I was shocked. All my doubts about her instantly faded. This woman is not just a psychic.

She is blind.

"Go on, child. Go back to where you came from. Maybe you shall find answers there."

********

When I came back to Dr. Browne's workplace, there is still no sign of him. I looked around the laboratory to check for any signs of him. While exploring the vast room, I stumbled upon a large bookshelf. There were many books neatly piled along the shelf, but one book caught my attention.

The black, leather-bound book with red inscriptions gave the book an enigmatic and intimidating look. When I opened it, the title page said: The Book of Shadows.

I quickly scanned upon the book only to find numerous mystical symbols and procedures about different specific intentions like weather manipulation, levitation, etc. It's very surprising to find a book like this in a scientist's workplace especially since they don't believe in stuff like spells and magic.

A bookmarked page caught my attention so I decided to open it. I was shocked to find the spell written in the page: Spell for Soul Extraction

I've read the page further and found out that the mixture of fairy blood, ashes of mermaid bones and a photophobic material for the spell were the same mixture that was sprayed on me inside the machine. I checked on the capsule and I was shocked to find my body lying inside.

I'm dead.

Suddenly, I heard the voice of Dr. Browne. Finally, he's back.

"Looks like you've figured out my plans. Good for you, Cedric." He said with a maniacal smile on his face. He took the mirror on the table, smashed it into pieces, picked up a shard and inflicted a wound on his left palm, letting the drops of blood splatter on the ground.

"W-what are you doing? What exactly are you?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a modern-day sorcerer. I use a mixture of science and magic to do things unimaginable." He looked at his wristwatch and smiled even more. "Oh, would you look at that! You have five minutes left to remain in this world."

"You extracted my soul from body! For what?!" I shouted to him.

"Demonic sacrifice. You see, I want more power. By sacrificing your soul, I shall be a lot stronger than before!"

"Not if I can stop you!" I said.

"Oh, what can you do against me? You're already dead." He mocked me.

With that, he raised his hands out front and chanted an incantation:

Diablo, Diablo, dinggin ang panawagan,

Iyong tuparin ang aking kahilingan,

Alay ko'y kaluluwang makasalanan,

Sya'y iyong ipasok sa apoy na pintuan!

The drops of blood on the floor started to glow crimson red, cracking the ground and revealing a large fissure filled with fire: the gates of hell. However, before the spell was finished, a large shard of glass pierced Dave's neck and went through his throat. A large, demonic hand came out of the gate and grabbed him instead, pulling him into the fiery crater. I managed to levitate a glass shard to kill him just in time. The laboratory floor returned to normal.

My instincts kicked in and I immediately went to the controls to shut down the machine. However, when the contraption refused to stop no matter what I did, I lost all hope. I knelt down the floor and prayed, remorseful for all the sins I did. I prayed for forgiveness and salvation.

Before I knew it, a blinding flash of light pulled me in, bringing me to the ethereal realms.

*********

The laboratory floor cracked once more, revealing a much smaller crevice filled with fire. Out of the fiery fissure, a demonic figure came out. It was Dr. Browne, now in a form so hideous that you won't recognize him easily.

"I can feel the power coursing through my veins......."

"I am now a demon."